Thursday, December 11, 2014

2. Getting dressed. See, it's not every day I get dressed in REAL clothes. Sure, I put a bra on every day-- but some days, it's yoga pants and a t-shirt. I mean, if I'm not leaving the house why not?!?!? And, I am ALWAYS dirty. Bailey's snotting nose and/or grubby hands are always all over me. Even when I do get dressed in real clothes, I'm dirty 6 seconds later.

Look! Real clothes!! Boots and a necklace and I even did my hair. Less than 2 minutes later, I'm covered in something. I don't even know what or how girl manages to work so fast.

Two Recent Workouts:

1. Run, run, ruuuuuning.

I've been running a little more lately. What can I say-- I'm still inspired.

2. Elliptical. BLEARH.

Nothing really more to say about that.

Two Pictures of Bailey:

No explanation needed. SO MUCH CUTENESS.

Two Random Things:1. I hit my head on a bookshelf while plugging in our Christmas tree and cut myself in the forehead. It's a small cut, but drew blood and now looks like a zit. Only me.

I was at the gym the other day and had just stepped on the indoor track and started to run. I was already feeling BLAH and 3 steps in was telling myself in my head to just quit and do something else-- something easier. I went through every excuse in the book-- I'm too tired, my legs are heavy, I'm out of shape, I won't be fast anyway, what's the point... on and on and on.Then, I look up and see a guy with a learning and physical disability walking in front of me. Well, working on walking. He must have been in some sort of PT program or something because he was working with another person and I overheard the therapist just telling him over and over not to give up and keep working on it.

Obviously I don't know this man. I don't know what sort of disability he has or his story. I don't know his history. Shit, I don't even know his name. I've never met him. I don't KNOW him. Not even a little. But, I felt so incredibly connected to him in this moment.

I could see the man struggle with each step. I could see that just WALKING was a struggle and such an accomplishment for him. I could see that it hurt and was painful and awkward and that it was SO HARD for him just to take a couple steps. And, I could see that he was NOT going to give up. He kept walking. Small, uneasy steps. With a grimace and moan with each step. But, he didn't give up. He kept going. And I could see he was SO PROUD of himself. Even while in pain, I could see how hard he was working and that he knew he was working hard and that he was accomplishing something. And here I was. Bitching in my head about how I HAD to run and how it sucked and how I sucked and how hard it was. Here was this amazing man working with everything he had just to take a single step, right in front of me. I was so in my head about how my legs were heavy and how out of shape I was and how slow I was that I've been forgetting just how amazing running is. He inspired me. I don't know him and he might tell me to shut the F up and not to use him as inspiration, but I am. He reminded me to just stop and run. I stopped bitching. I stopped complaining. I just ran. He reminded me that I run because I can. There are SO many people who would do ANYTHING to run and here I was bitching about it. Stupid me. I run because I can. I GET to run. My legs have carried me through SO much and I give them such shit. This man reminded me to stop and just run. He reminded me that I run because I CAN.

Is it cheesy? Yep. Will I remember it every time I go to run? Nope. Will it make me start running 30 mile weeks? Not even a little. Does any of that make it any less true or any less profound? Not even a little.

Tuesday, December 2, 2014

Well hello there 2+ week hiatus. Whoops. What can I say-- life happens. And time just keeps flying by faster and faster. I mean, how is it already DECEMBER?? Whaaaaat?? No. Freaking. Way. It was just summer like yesterday, wasn't it? I swear, fall did not exist. Anyway-- I'm back. Or at least back-ish. Back for today. :)Life's been crazy as usual. Bailey caught a bad stomach bug (aka the plague) the week of Thanksgiving. SO MUCH VOMIT. Like, real, grown up vomit. All of me. Over and over. And it was BRIGHT RED because she ate cherries for breakfast. FUUUUUN.

Poor bugs!! And, your welcome for sparing you from the pic of ALL THE VOMIT. Yes, I took a pic. Duh.

Fun, fun times. I swear I can still smell vomit on me. Shudder. Poor girl just did not feel good and was just all sortsa out of sorts. Tired and clingy and crabby and couldn't get comfortable and didn't wanna nap. It was SO MUCH FUN, let me tell ya.

Yes, she did lay this way for numerous minutes and Sadie just sat there and took it. Such a good doggie!

Then, of course, she gave it to me. FUN! We were both feeling OK by Wednesday so we decided to do the trek down to the St. Louis area for Thanksgiving with my fam. After a not-very fun drive where I still felt like I was gonna vomit and Bailey was still a little outta sorts (aka- cried and screamed for half the drive), we made it in 1 piece Wednesday night. I woke up early Thursday and ran a cold and icy 5k Turkey Trot.

I wasn't wearing my Garmin... ok, I was but it didn't find satellite at all during the entire run. LAME. Anyway- I think I finished in about 31 minutes. Given the icy roads and the fact that this was my first outdoor run in months, I was pretty happy with it. Of course, the Hubs woke up Thursday sicker than sick and puked IN THE SICK. True love is your wife cleaning your vomit out of the sink while you sleep the day away. No wonder I still swear I can smell vomit in the air. Poor guy had to miss Thanksgiving dinner. Don't worry-- we saved him lots of yummy leftovers and he woke up Friday feeling much, much better.Friday morning we all woke up and walked in a local parade to help some family friends hand out candy. SO MUCH FUN! But, OMG! So hard to not hand ALL THE CANDY out in the first 2 seconds. Too many cute kids watching the parade BEGGING for candy. Of course, Saturday my older sister woke up sick. Then Sunday my other sister felt crummy. WHOOPS!!!! Next time, we'll just stay home instead of spreading a tummy virus across state lines. Whoops. Sorry all!!!! At least it only seemed to last 24-ish hours. Sunday morning after my little sister took off (and later got sick-- sorry again!), we went to breakfast with my older sister and nephew and Bailey saw Santa for the first time!!

The restaurant was having a Breakfast with Santa thing that we did NOT go to (because we already have tickets to do a b-fast with Santa this coming weekend), but Santa and Mrs. Claus just happened to walk right by our table on their way to the big breakfast and they stopped and said hello. So fun!!! Bailey was SO interested in Santa. She couldn't stop staring at him. It was SO cute! YAY for the holidays!!!!We made it home Sunday night and are slowly getting back in the swing of things. Our fridge is emptier than empty so Bugs and I are off to re-load. Happy Tuesday!

Thursday, November 13, 2014

We have a dangerous situation going on over here, guys. See- I've been going to the gym. Like, almost every week day. PS- Isn't it crazy how weekend used to be my big guaranteed workout time and now its weekdays? Life, man. Life. Annnnyway-- I've been going to the gym. And, I sorta like LOVE it.We knew this would happen. Or at least I knew this would happen and I think if you asked the Hubs he'd say he knew it was gonna happen too.

Every morning while drinking my coffee while Bailey plays with whatever toy is THE toy of the moment,

or ALL the toys

I check out that days group class schedule.

Why yes, I did print the group class schedule and then highlight the ones that would work with Bailey's nap schedule. I mean, obviously.

So far, I've tried a handful of classes:

-Spinning:

Duh-- and, I have to say I'm a bit disappointed at least in the one I've gone to... music is too soft and the instructor is BORING. I'm gonna try a different session.

-Weight Training: Love it. Great sweat session and good to do some strength. I'll admit I've been neglecting Jillian since joining the gym and this makes me feel a little less guilty.

-Step and Sculpt: Oh, I had high hopes for this one. And, I'll say it was both good-- actually left me pretty sore the next day (though I imagine that was due to using too heavy of weights than the actual class, but still)-- and very, very bad-- I was the only person under 60 in the room and it was a special one night only karaoke sing along class. Seriously. That happened. Of course that would happen.

Besides classes, I've also been treadmilling it up a lot. And, the elliptical has seen a little action too. Yep. Still as boring as ever.

I've hit the indoor track once so far and will definitely be back on that.

﻿

Oh! And a new love-- the rower. Ok, maybe LOVE isn't the right word. That thing is HARD! And kinda boring. But, it's infinitely more interesting than the elliptical and gives my legs a workout in a different kinda way and an arm workout, all with some quality panting-cardio. Love.

So, yes. I have been gym-ing. A lot. And I couldn't be happier. Oh, except with Bailey cries when I drop her off. BREAKS MY HEART. But, that's part of why I'm going. I realllllly want her to be OK with being with other people. Some days, she's 100% fine when I drop her. Others, screaming crying. Ugh. Either way, they tell me she's 100% fine within 2 minutes of me leaving. Rascal. Good thing she's so stinkin' cute.

But, anyway-- this is a danger situation. The while loving it thing. See, this gym membership is only TEMPORARY. Maybe. :)

Tuesday, November 11, 2014

No. Way. I just can't believe it. How is it possible for it to feel like I just had her yesterday and yet also feel like she's been part of our family for so, so much longer than just a year?? However we got here, we're here...

Happy Birthday, Bailey!!!

Age: 1 year!!!

Size: I'd guess about 17 pounds and 28 inches. We have her 1 year check up (and yes, my list of questions for the doctor is about a mile long) Friday, so I'll know for sure then.

She's officially in 6-9 month clothes and even SOME 12 month clothes, though that has mainly been just because I bought Halloween shirts and such last year on clearance before she was born and girl was wearing it even if she was swimming in it. Oh, and she's still comfortably in size 3 diapers. Small little peanut.

Sleep: No news is good news, right? She's still doing great. Goes to bed right after nursing around 7:10pm and gets up around 6:30am. We had a really, really tough time with a double whammy of the time change and teething and that threw us off for a week or so, but we're back on track.

Naps are still great too. She naps from about 8:30-10:30am and then again from 1:30-3:30pm everyday. She can miss a nap here or there if necessary and does OK, especially if we're out and about and she's entertained. She definitely gets GRUMMMMMPY in the evening if she misses that afternoon nap, though. Wowza. We try very, very hard not to miss that nap.

For both naps and sleep, I put her in a sleep sack (more for warmth than to keep her contained... girl can move around in that thing just as good as she can without it), tell her that her daddy and mama love her, and set her in her crib-- fully and 100% awake. I give her George, her monkey paci (yes, we're still using the paci-- let's not talk about it), wind up her girafee that plays music, turn on the fan, and walk out. I can count the number of times she's cried or fussed on 2 hands. It's magical and wonderful and I am SOOOOO grateful. KNOCK ON FREAKING WOOD. You. KNOCK. DO IT. Thanks.

I don't consider Bailey a natural sleeper. She has never been and likely will never be a sleepy baby by nature. Even at just a few weeks old, she could stay awake for HOURS at a time. It took a LOT of work to get her on a schedule and have her become a good sleeper. I'm incredibly proud of it. Sure, I'll give Bailey SOME credit. I mean, she is the one sleeping, right? But, I really, really don't think it's just HER and is natural. If it were up to her, she'd crawl around and play til she physically dropped each day. She'd be the queen of the 15 minute power nap. So, I'll give the Hubs and I most the credit. It took WORK, but I am so, so glad we did it and do it again a thousand times over.

Nursing and Solids: Again, no news = good news. We're still nursing 4 times a day. I plan to cut the 2 middle of the day feedings and replace them with 1/2 cow's milk and 1/2 frozen breastmilk (til the stash runs out and then 100% cow's milk) in a sippy cup. Yep. No more bottles! We packed them all up and they are gone! Girl is a champ with the sippy now and didn't have to take a bottle very often anyway so the transition was 100% seamless.

I know I CAN keep nursing past a year. I know that. I have no shame in saying-- I DON'T WANT TO. I loooove nursing Bailey. I love it. I am so incredibly grateful and proud to say we exclusively nursed for a year. But, I'm ready. I'm ready to not have to think about all the things that come with nursing. And, wanna know what? I don't really have to justify WHY. I'm just ready to be done. At least with the middle of the day sessions. I'd love, love, looove to continue the morning and before-bed session and really hope my supply keeps up so I can.

Oh, and I am so, so, soooooo done pumping. Yep. I packed that shit up and threw it into a closet to never, ever think about again. OK, not never. Til Baby T 2.0. But, for now-- NO MORE PUMPING!!! Feel free to have a mini dance party. I did. GOODBYE, Pump! You will NOT be missed. Not even a little.

In the world of solids, girl is a champ (again-- KNOCK ON WOOD PLEASE!!!). She eats pretty darn well. We still struggle with breakfast. She's very hit or miss (way more often miss) on eggs, waffles, french toast, pancakes, and sausage. She LOVES most fruit and yogurt. And, I've learned she'll eat almost anything if I hide it in a bite of yogurt. The hubs jokes that she's going to eat the weirdest foods when she's grown up because of how she eats now (ok, because of how I make her eat now). Whatever. It works!

I made a homemade minestrone soup (thanks for the recipe, MIL!!) and girl LOVED it. I gave it to her, just without much broth, and she fed herself. She even ate the cabbage. LOVED it. It was so cute!!

Her very-often-miss foods of the moment are: avocado, bananas, and eggs

Likes:

-Pretending to be a and playing with big kids. Girl thinks she's 3.

-Going down slides. How did she even learn how to do this? She loves it! Told you. She thinks she's a big kid.

-Standing and walking along furniture/walls and just overall mooooving

-Climbing up stairs.

-Sadie. 100000 times over. Bailey's love for her doggie just grows and grows each month. It's so incredibly adorable.

-Dada. Girl is a dada's girl. She lights up when he gets home and even just at the sound of his voice. SO cute.

-Playing in her carseat (not to be confused with SITTING in her carseat-- see dislikes).

-The kitchen. It's her favorite room.

-Waving. She loooves to wave. She waves to YouTube videos of other babies, pictures on the wall, Sadie, cars driving by, and pretty much every, single person in a store. ADORABLE.

-Eating, bathtime, books, George (her monkey paci), routine, grandma and grandpa (OMG- the cutest thing last week... she was playing on the floor with the Hubs and his mom and Bailey crawled right over to her and sat in her lap and cuddled her. If you know B you know she is NOT a cuddler. It may have only lasted 4 seconds, but it still melted every heart in the room)

Dislikes:

-SITTING in her carseat. It's not AS bad as it was.... as in, not every car ride is a complete melt down, but she still doesn't like it. Blearh. Oh well. I've conceded to defeat in this area.

-The "witching hour"-- 5:30-7pm-ish. Ugh. She's just her crabbiest and an overall grump during this time. Except when she's in the bath. She loves that, so we try to make the bath break the record for the worlds longest bath every night. Parents of the Year, right here.

New This Month/Special Moments/Milestones:

-Really, really standing. Like, for as long as she wants. She's got the standing thing DOWN.

-ALMOOOOST walking. She's taken a step here or there, but nothing substantial enough to call it WALKING. She's THIS close though. Any day.

-Lots of ba's, da's, ya's... still no freaking ma's, but we'll get there.

-Identifying things. I put a ball and a book and another toy on the floor in front of her and say "Bailey, where's the ball?" and she'll pick up the ball. WOAH. Where did that come from?? She's SO big!

Wednesday, November 5, 2014

(And, pretty decently-OK runs at that! The 3-mile one I ran a 10:15 first mile, so I really picked it up miles 2 and 3. Plus, I ran that WITHOUT music because I forgot headphones. Clearly I'm outta practice. The 2-mile run I started slow, too, and just kept picking it up. It was just after a spinning class and my legs were jello. It was HARD and I was PANTING. But, I looooved it. Plus, I was rocking out o the new Taylor Swift. Pretty sure I was dancing and smiling the entire time while running. No shame.)

Waaaaaittt--- that looks an awful lot like a treadmill???? IT IS!!!!!!!!

Who would have ever thought I'd be so excited to GET to run on a treadmill!?!?! But, I am!!!! SO excited!!! TWO RUNS in TWO DAYS??? WAHOO!!! Of course, now my right quad is pretty pissed at me, but it's nothing a little lot of stretching and foam rolling won't fix.

So, hooooow am I treadmill running?? No, we didn't win the lottery and buy a treadmill. I did, however, get a gym membership!!! WAHOO!!!

OK, don't get too excited. It's a temporary one. My town is running a special to help people keep fit over the holidays and is offering a membership to EIGHT (!!) different local gyms from 11/2-12/31 for $25!! WHAAAT?!?! That's hella cheap. Well, obviously it didn't really matter at first because I have Bailey and can't really run on the treadmill with her just chilling next to me. (Side note: If you knew Bailey you'd know she doesn't just chill--- ever. LOL) Buuuut, one of the gyms -- the YMCA-- includes 2 hours of FREE childcare (while you're at the gym-- you don't even have to be working out-- you could be showering or just chilling in the lobby reading)!!!!!!!!!!! WHAAAAAAT?!?!? Sign. Me. Up. Seriously. I was probably the first person to buy their pass.

So, I bought it (DUH!) and we've already gone twice. Bailey's done really well in the childcare.

A completely unrelated pic of Bailey because I'm obsessed with my kid and can't do a post without a picture of her. Duh.

She LOVES to play with other babies and while I obviously LOVE to workout and go to group classes (I've already done a spinning class!!), another BIG reason I jumped at this was to give B some time AWAY from me. Maybe that sounds dumb, but she and I spend pretty much every single moment she's awake together. I think it's really important for HER to learn and figure things out and just be without me attached to her hip. Or ya know-- without her attached to my hip, I suppose.

Anyway- I'm in love. The gym is awesome. Big! Clean! Did I mention the FREE childcare??? Love. It's crowded. I've already bumped into 5 different people I know in a cumulative 2.5 hours I've spent there. But, I don't mind a crowd. If anything, more people give me more energy and push me harder. So, I'm REALLY digging it. Unfortunately, a regular membership to the gym is pretty pricey, so I don't think we'll be able to continue it after the end of December... but, we'll see. I'm keeping my fingers crossed at least a few more months will be my Christmas present (wink, wink, Hubs)! :)

Get ready for some more workout related posts coming your way soon. :) :) :)

Saturday, 11/1: NoneThe Hubs got me a new Jillian Michaels Workout DVD for my birthday-- Jillian Michaels Ripped in 30 (JMR30). Turns out, at least Week 1 of the DVD (which is all I've done so far) is pretty much exactly the same as 30-Day Shred. LAME. Maybe it'll get better. We'll see. Since I love me some Jillian, I still dig it. But, I was hoping for something way different to help mix it up. Oh well.

Saturday, 10/25: 2 mile walk (out of town)Apparently I just need to accept that the only time I run is the weekend. Specifically, Sunday mornings. While I'd love to get out there more, it is what it is. And, I do 100% LOVE my Sunday runs right now. Brisk, fall colors, alone time... perfection. BUUUUT- I did get 1 more run in this week! Now that I learned how to make my stroller stop shaking violently when running, my excuses not to run with B are more limited (though don't worry, I still have plenty). It was fun to get out with her. Hard, but fun. :)

Monday, October 20, 2014

HAPPY MONDAY! Did you have a good weekend? I did! Friday night I took Bailey to a Trick or Treat event in our downtown area. It was her first Trick or Treat!!!

Seriously, though. Tell me she's not the cutest monkey ever in life, ever. Even the Hubs got off a little early from work so he could make it out to the event. It was actually not the world's most fun event... lots of just standing in 1 giant line waiting to go from shop to shop to get 1 piece of candy. But, we went with my Mom's Club, so we had friends to keep each other company and chit chat. Win, win. After Trick or Treat-ing we met a friend who was in from out of town for dinner. First pumpkin beer of the season AND amazing conversation with a great friend? Another win, win.Saturday we were supposed to take our family pictures and Bailey's 1 year pictures, but it was raining so they were postponed. BOO! But, we had a good day anyway. We went shopping to get the Hubs a new coat, lunch at Chipotle, and picked up a *FREE!!* new toy for Bailey from one of the other mom's in my Mom's Club (love the use and reuse philosophy of the moms in my group... I've gotten SO MUCH free hand me downs and plan to give them to someone else after we're done... SO SMART! And, FREE!!).

We spend the rest of the day playing with her new toy. She's OBSESSED and looooves it. It's amazing how quickly she got the hang of it and figured out how to get up and down successfully. Smart little peanut. Sunday I went for a RUN! Yep!! Me! RUN! 5 miles!! It felt AMAZING and I loved every, single step. I finished in 49:30, so not the fastest, but I did get progressively faster each mile, with the last mile sub 9:00. WOAH! ME! It felt really nice to be out there and I hope to continue this Sunday morning tradition for a while. Famous last words, right?After cleaning up, I went to hear a friend give a sermon at a local church and she rocked it. It was about bacon. Yep. Bacon. How could it not have been amazing? Then, the Hubs and I took Bailey and Sadie for a long walk. Love our Sunday walks. After the walk, we took Bailey downtown for a Chili Cook Off event.

Girl LOVED every bite! People looked at us like we were crazy for giving her chili, but she looooved it. It was a lot of fun, even if the Hubs and I couldn't agree on which chili we liked the best.

Saturday, 10/18: JM30DS & 2 mile walkWho had a Stroller 5k Fun Run Race thing that at their local YMCA they forgot about til that morning WHILE they were doing Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred?? THIS KID!!

Whoops! It all worked out. I finished Jillian, changed into pants (it's chilly here all the sudden! Fall is HERE!), woke B up from her nap early (boo!), and hauled ass to the YMCA just in time for the start. I ran with a friend who is JUUUUST starting to run. We took 2-3 walking breaks and ran slooowly. I think we finished in about 39 minutes. It was fun to run with her and just to run, period. Turns out, just running when you feel like it with no paces or pressure in your mind is kinda nice. Oh, AND I got a shirt and got to run with B and a friend! Win, win!! :)

About Me

I’m Meagan-- your typical, run of the mill, completely random and neurotic girl. Just got married and am finished my first marathon! This blog will be follow me as I learn to juggle life as a newlywed, working full time, and running like crazy... basically as I learn to Manage Meagan.